Two Bear Cubs: A Miwok Legend from California's Yosemite Valley

This engaging and popular retelling of the Southern Sierra Miwok legend features the great Yosemite Valley monolith, El Capitan, and how it came to be. Mother Grizzly Bear thinks that her two playful cubs are wrestling and having fun along the Merced River while she is checking her fish traps. When she returns to join her sons, however, she discovers the cubs are nowhere to be found. It takes an unlikely hero to bring her cubs safely home. Populated with characters based on real Sierra Nevada animals, this story is about the value of all beings, the nature of courage, and the idea that being a hero has very little to do with one's size. Includes an Author's Note about the life and culture of the Southern Sierra Miwok people and a bibliography.

About the Author :
Robert D. San Souci (1946 2014)wasa native of California and worked with illustrators from all across the country to create children's books, but his favorite illustratorand collaborator was his brother, Daniel San Souci. They published twelve books together. He passed away in December 2014. Daniel San Souci was born in San Francisco and grew up across the bay in Berkeley, California. In 1978 he started a career in book illustration.He has published over80 books and created many book covers which include wildlife and national park titles. He lives in Oakland, CA.

Review :
“In this retelling of a Miwok Indian legend about the huge granite rock formation at Yosemite known as El Capitan, two bear cubs go for a romp and become so tired they fall asleep on a rock. They don't even wake up when the rock begins to grow. When Mother Grizzly goes searching for the cubs, all the animals she encounters try to help her. Red-tailed Hawk finally spots the cubs on top of the mountain, but it isn't until the most insignificant of creatures, the measuring worm, tries to make the climb that the cubs are rescued. The two cubs are endearing fellows, and although it looks odd for the animal characters to be dressed in traditional Miwok garb, a note explains that the Miwok believe their early ancestors had animal forms…. The excellent background notes on the Miwok and the story of the small, triumphant worm make this a fine purchase for most libraries.” —Susan Dove Lempke, BOOKLIST